Hardly a tweet goes by these days without talking to some aspect of a wicked, sustainable or commons problem causing uproar and ripples around the world. Power has shifted to individuals armed with smart phones and global access. Activist groups, lobbyists, social enterprises and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are plentiful, with increased ability through the internet and social media. By comparison, policy makers, governance entities and regulators are experiencing decreasing budgets and limited staffing resources. Whether it is climate change, obesity, conflict, or the impact of our purchasing decisions, our planet and societies face many intractable problems which involve and affect numerous people, groups and organizations with the same people, groups and organizations sharing some responsibility for action.Stakeholders and their engagement have never been more important in an increasingly interconnected world. Stakeholder engagement with problems that are ill defined, complex and dynamic in nature go beyond individual behavioural change for social value, societal welfare and transformation. Engagement is collaboration, empowerment and direct active participation through ALL stages of your social marketing work. It goes significantly beyond just asking stakeholders for their opinions. Stakeholders ‘framing’ the situation, stakeholders being ‘agents of change’ and ultimately, stakeholders ‘co-creating value’ are core to a healthier future for all of us.

Inequality isn’t all about income. Here’s a guide to different ranking systems – from wealth distribution to the World Happiness Report – and which countries rate best and worst under each.

Measuring comparative levels of global inequality is far from straightforward. Is it fair to focus only on financial inequalities, or should we consider quality of life too? If so, how do you measure it?

There are three key measures of financial inequality: income, consumption and wealth. Usually, the term inequality is used to mean income inequality, as it’s the basis for most measures and the best documented of the three.

By the time KS entered college, her world revolved around the gym. No sooner would she finish a lecture than she would dash to the campus fitness centre. She would feel anxious if she missed a workout and would go no matter how tired or busy she was. Travelling was very difficult because of her obsessiveness about her exercise routines. She lost many friendships and career opportunities because she was barely available outside her exercise schedule. By the time she was 26 years old, KS had weathered two herniated discs and a stress fracture and had persistent exhaustion.

Exercise has numerous health benefits and is generally viewed as a positive behaviour,1 so patients and clinicians may overlook the dangers of excessive exercise and addiction. This article explores how healthcare professionals can recognise and understand the risks of primary exercise addiction.

#### Details of literature search

We searched PubMed and PsychINFO using the terms “exercise addiction,” “exercise dependence,” and “excessive exercise” for systematic reviews and experimental, cross-sectional, and case studies. The overall quality of the evidence for this area is modest with a reliance on descriptive and observational studies. Few controlled trials and experimental designs exist.

People with exercise addiction experience loss of control such that exercise becomes an obligation and excessive.23 Although exercise addiction is not officially classified as a mental health disorder, it is characterised by similar negative effects on emotional and social health as other addictions. Primary exercise addiction differs from excessive exercise seen in people with eating disorders (also known …

Some of the starkest examples of inequalities come from life expectancy statistics. We can see differences over time (eg Scotland’s declining rank in global comparisons) and between areas and populations (eg differences between areas across the UK). The differences are even more apparent looking at healthy life expectancy. Looking at individual conditions (eg mental health), differences in life expectancy are even apparent in Scandinavian countries. Inequality is a challenge across the world.

Smokers should not rely on e-cigarettes to give up the habit due to a lack of evidence that they effectively help people to quit, the Health and Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) has said.

In its first analysis of the cost-effectiveness of using e-cigarettes to help people quit smoking, Hiqa said the Minister for Health should invest further funds in interventions to help the approximately 820,000 Irish smokers break the habit.

The health body also recommended that the Minister await the results of ongoing trials on the long-term effects of e-cigarettes before advocating their use as a means of ending smoking habits.

The HSE spends €460 million a year on dealing with the consequences of smoking, including lung cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, according to Hiqa.

Patients with these smoking-related health issues account for about 28,000 hospital admissions and some 11,000 day cases per annum.

Background: Digital therapeutics are evidence-based behavioral treatments delivered online that can increase accessibility and effectiveness of health care. However, few studies have examined long-term clinical outcomes of digital therapeutics.

Objective: The objective of this study was to conduct a 2-year follow-up on participants in the Internet-based Prevent diabetes prevention program pilot study, specifically examining the effects on body weight and A1c, which are risk factors for diabetes development.

Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was used, including a single-arm pre- and post-intervention assessment of outcomes. Participants underwent a 16-week weight loss intervention and an ongoing weight maintenance intervention. As part of the program, participants received a wireless scale, which was used to collect body weight data on an ongoing basis. Participants also received A1c test kits at baseline, 0.5 year, 1 year, and 2-year time points.

Results: Participants previously diagnosed with prediabetes (n=220) were originally enrolled in the pilot study. A subset of participants (n=187) met Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria for starting the program (starters), and a further subset (n=155) met CDC criteria for completing the program (completers) and were both included in analyses. Program starters lost an average of 4.7% (SD 0.4) of baseline body weight after 1 year and 4.2% (SD 0.8) after 2 years, and reduced A1c by mean 0.38% (SD 0.07) after 1 year and 0.43% (SD 0.08) after 2 years. Program completers lost mean 4.9% (SD 0.5) of baseline body weight after 1 year and 4.3% (SD 0.8) after 2 years, and reduced A1c by 0.40% (SD 0.07) after 1 year and 0.46% (SD 0.08) after 2 years. For both groups, neither 2-year weight loss nor A1c results were significantly different from 1-year results.

Conclusions: Users of the Prevent program experienced significant reductions in body weight and A1c that are maintained after 2 years. Contrary to the expected progression from prediabetes to diabetes over time, average A1c levels continued to show an average regression from within the prediabetic range (5.7%-6.4%) initially to the normal range (<5.7%) after 2 years. Further investigation is warranted to test digital therapeutics as a scalable solution to address national diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention efforts.

A survey of Italian infectious disease physicians working with HIV, conducted in 2015 but only published this July, reveals that at that time there was still considerable scepticism about HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

At this point, the attitudes of the physicians polled – who form a substantial proportion of Italian doctors working with HIV – appeared to be in transition or even contradictory. While over half of them considered that health authorities had an ethical obligation to prescribe PrEP if needed, less than 30% thought it should be paid for by the national healthcare system. And while over 60% said that at least one of their patients had asked about PrEP, only a third said they were “familiar” with it.

In Italy, HIV treatment is conducted primarily by infectious disease physicians in HIV care centres based in hospitals. At the time of the survey there were 153 HIV Care Centres in Italy altogether but the questionnaire was sent to doctors in 50 centres with more than 500 patients each. The mean number of patients in Italian HIV care centres was in fact at that time 624, with a small number of large centres (HIV patient numbers ranging from 17 to 6526). It was assumed at this time that PrEP would also be dispensed by experienced HIV physicians, an assumption 63% of survey respondents agreed with.

Last winter’s flu vaccination programme in the over-65s was ineffective, according to new data from Public Health England (PHE).1

Provisional estimates show that for all age groups combined, the vaccine effectiveness against influenza A and B was 39.8% (85% CI 23.1 to 52.8). But for the over-65s, the principal target of the campaign, effectiveness was −6.3% (CI −95.5 to 42.0).

PHE said that the failure of the campaign in older people meant that better vaccines were needed for them. “It is increasingly recognised that the current generation of flu vaccines often work less well in the elderly, likely because of factors such as the weaker immune systems in this population,” a statement said in response to questions from The BMJ . “Nonetheless, over a number of years, …

Every day, hospitals and ASCs (ambulatory surgical centers) strive to improve the patient experience and get the best outcomes possible. In utilizing sentiment analysis and marketing, they access data that helps them optimize the patients’ experiences and track response to services real-time.

What is Sentiment Marketing?

Sentiment marketing begins when you start addressing the comments your patients' make based on the results of your sentiment analysis.

Sentiment analysis refers to technology that helps marketers determine and understand the emotional tone of online responses to brands and marketing campaigns. Sentiment analysis or opinion mining makes use of algorithms and new technologies to classify and analyze opinions about your facility. However, it does not stop at opinions, it analyzes attitudes and emotions expressed in each comment. Sentiment analysis reads more into every response and draws the true meaning behind the words.

Sentiment analysis helps marketers make sense of social media opinions. You get honest and real time data without the additional expense of reaching out to your audiences for feedback. Additionally, it does not focus on the loudest or most aggressive voices. You can access the opinions of your entire audience for a realistic and holistic assessment.

The Future of Marketing

As technology and consumer trends change, medical marketers must shift their focus to creating holistic experiences that appeal to their patients with emphasis on two focus areas:

Brand Strategy

Sentiment analysis allows you to track more than just your business; you can monitor industry trends and your competitors, helping you improve your brand strategy. Proper utilization of sentiment analysis and big data analytics allows you to personalize and improve patient experiences, which improves loyalty and ultimately, revenues for your facility.

Predictive Analytics

Predictive analysis helps you track and identify patient behavior from data available on social and open-source platforms. With this data, you can predict patient expectations and create experiences that meet their needs in a timely fashion.

Sentiment Marketing in Hospitals and ASCs

Online reviews, ratings and HCAHPS scores play an important role in helping healthcare providers asses their patients’ experiences. With sentiment analysis, your facility can use the data to edge out competition by optimizing experiences based on patient needs.

The sentiment analysis strategy allows you to classify comments from patient surveys and online comments into categories such as nursing, physicians, pain management, discharge, facilities, and services. With the data, you can now create an integrated patient experience that allows you to:

Motivate Staff – For example, with access to over 20 percent more positive comments than negative comments, you have enough data to encourage your staff to keep up good habits. Negative comments also challenge the staff to work toward creating a more positive patient experience.

Patient Satisfaction and the Revenue Cycle

It is well recognized that patient satisfaction is directly related to a patient's commitment to pay. This is especially important during a time when patients' healthcare costs are rising. Therefore, it is in the best interest of every hospital and ASC to make their patient's experience a priority. Hospitals and ASCs with a well established marketing strategy and who are looking to make patient satisfaction top of the line, should consider sentiment analysis as the next step for taking their services, and likely the success of their patient collections, to the next level.

In 2015, the most recent year for which data are available, just 72% of U.S. toddlers had received seven key vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Together, these vaccines protect against 11 potentially deadly diseases. Perhaps the subpar number is not surprising: As once-common diseases of childhood fade from public view, it is understandable that parents' attention would shift from the fear of disease to concerns about risks of the vaccines themselves. The articles in this issue debunk myths old and new about these risks; acknowledge the real, rare vaccine injuries that do occur; and explore what's known about what works to persuade vaccine-hesitant parents. And the graphic data on this page serve as a powerful reminder of the power of vaccines to vanquish disease.

Effective health care requires physicians tailor care to patients' individual life contexts, including their financial situation, social support, competing responsibilities, and cognitive abilities. Physicians, however, are poorly prepared to consider patients' lives when planning their care. The result is measurably harmful to individuals and costly to society.

In a shed next to his Portsmouth home, former soldier Paul Quinn plugs into state-of-the-art technology, costing only £20 and operated through his iPad, to manage his chronic, life-threatening respiratory disease. He exercises there with his wife Elizabeth, guided by printouts of routines he has pasted to the walls.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? If you’re like millions of Americans, you roll over, grab your phone, check your email and visit your favorite social media sites.

Many use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for entertainment, to network for business, as their daily news sources or as a way to keep in touch with friends and family. It should come as no surprise, then, that physicians are utilizing social media as a means to connect, share and learn from other physicians. As a physician yourself, if you have a moment throughout your day to engage in social media, you may want to strongly consider learning about the following five most popular social media sites for those in your position:

Doximity

Doximity is like Facebook for physicians, connecting physicians to other physicians they already know. The company claims to be the largest medical professional network in the United States, with more than 60 percent of clinicians as members. The site boasts functionalities and features such as HIPAA-secure communication, a job board, tools to earn and track CME credits and data on compensation trends for a provider’s specialty and geographic area.

Sermo

Sermo is one of the biggest, most successful social networks for doctors to collaborate globally. It’s a physician-only site that is often called a “virtual doctors’ lounge,” allowing providers to anonymously ask questions about anything and everything, including the practice of medicine and business management.

DailyRounds

DailyRounds is a clinical case site for doctors and medical students. DailyRounds presents clinical cases in a journal-like manner so that physicians can read about short cases and even share some of their own.

Ozmosis

Ozmosis verifies the identities of its members to ensure that only U.S. licensed physicians join. Once members, physicians can access knowledge feeds that are similar to Facebook’s friend feed. These knowledge feeds provide continuous updates of new journal clubs, cases, questions and videos.

QuantiaMD

QuantiaMD is an online community with more than 200,000 registered members. An active community, these physicians learn from faculty members who teach at some of the top medical institutions. Physicians can participate in short expert presentations and collaborate with each other to deliver better care for the patients they serve.

Online communities provide physicians with access to countless resources, including articles, experts in the field, colleagues and networks. These sites also give clinicians a place to share cases, disseminate research and engage in health advocacy. As technology is constantly changing and social media sites tend to come and go, some sites will likely die out and be replaced with newer, more robust solutions. No matter how long these sites last, however, social media sites can play an important role in the advancement of healthcare and will undoubtedly shape the way physicians share information, ideas and career interests.

LONDON, United Kingdom—Stocked with cold pressed juices, fresh salads and healthy snacks, Mother’s innovative vending machines are turning the notion of convenience food on its head.

Launched in 2014 in London, the ground-breaking machines, filled with healthy and nutritionally-balanced food, can be found in various locations across the capital, including Amazon’s headquarters and Tower 42.

Using bespoke technology to produce a streamlined and interactive experience for users, the intuitive 22 inch touch screen found on each machine, displays high-res images that reflect the physical location of the items on offer as well as showing their dietary values, which can be filtered to meet the requirements of each customer.

Patients seem to embrace the idea that more frequent communication with their provider via digital tools could lead to improved health. If given the option, 64 percent of survey respondents said they would submit personal, real-time healthcare information to their provider, although that willingness to share online varies between ages.

And providers are noticing their patients’ willingness to divulge more information and more frequently to take a more active role in their healthcare. Over 70 percent of providers said improving patient engagement is a top priority in their organization – up from 60 percent in 2016 – and 80 percent are working to implement tools to make access to personal healthcare records easier. And patients are noticing their doctors’ efforts: 83 percent reported receiving encouragement from their doctor to access their own information and 81 percent said they were offered a patient portal to sign up for. There has also been an increase in communication in the form of email and the creation of mobile apps.

The internet has transformed our lives, particularly in the way we access information and communicate with each other. Today academic physicians have more tools than ever in the form of social networking and other online resources to disseminate their scholarly work worldwide. Some of these sites even provide analytics that can help academic physicians measure and report their reach, and these metrics may be useful when filing for promotion.

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.